Robot and Dog both panted with their quick feet on the sidewalk near the bus stop, as they ran after the transit bus that they just barely missed. The long-nosed canine bus driver peered at the rear-view mirror, noticing the approaching robot-dog pair shouting and waving for their attention. He grumbled something unintelligibly and reluctantly hit the brakes, the bus coming to a complete stop. He activated the door open with the push of a button, and the duo barged in shortly after.

Dog waved thanks with one hand and revealed his bus pass with the other. They both grabbed a quick seat, as the bus began to accelerate again. Dog stored his backpack up in the luggage compartment and finally sat next to his robot pal. Robot sat with wonder, his eyes wandering left to right, as he began gazing at the passing buildings from the comfort of his own window seat. All of a sudden, Dog's stomach started growling, and he winced from his hunger. His lack of breakfast was really starting to catch up to him.

While the bus roamed through the highway, the driver glanced at the rear-view mirror again and frowned. Out of all the passengers, it had to be this guy. Dog had been caught red-handed standing up from his seat, slipping out a little snack from his green bag. With a quick smile, he hid from view, holding the bag of Cheetos that he brought earlier. He began tugging at his plastic bag to open it but pulled it alongside the seam instead of properly pulling it apart.

Robot kept staring outside the window, looking through the various buildings and billboards that flew by quickly, and eventually noticed another lower-grade car that contained another robot. He initially smiled, but it gradually turned into a frown when he noticed the dejected expression from the other blue, bucket-head robot. A little alpaca kid from behind in the backseat repeatedly whacked him with a fuzzy toy on a string, displaying some visible wear and tear on his head.

As Robot continued to stare in the distance, Dog kept tugging and stretching his bag harder and harder, desperate to get it open. Finally, he tore open the bag with an explosion of Cheeto dust and pieces flying everywhere, catching the attention of nearby passengers, including the driver. He smiled at his accomplished feat and dug into the bag with his bare hands.

The freeway signs pointed out Ocean Beach coming up, as Dog continued stuffing his face with more cheesy corn puffs. Robot's smile widened, with his mouth gaping open, once he saw the grassy land slowly transition to sandy beaches and wide open seas at the coastline.

The brakes hissed and creaked as they finally reached their coastal destination. Robot and Dog were the first ones to exit, and he dragged Dog along with him, who was more than thrilled to explore the beach. They both scanned their surroundings as they passed the Playland entrance and walked along the boardwalk.

The two friends went past different shops and booths, some of which had arcades and carnival games, while others served grilled foods and treats. They passed by many of them, but eventually, a soft serve dispenser caught Dog's eye, and he bought two ice cream swirl cones.

Dog, who held the cake cones with both hands, licked off most of his treat in a matter of seconds and held out the other one for Robot. His mechanical friend, still entranced by the overstimulating experience, didn't notice the chocolate and vanilla dessert. Ultimately, Dog started licking the other one before it could melt off the cone.

Later, after spending countless minutes searching for an empty spot, they eventually located a closeby space, which would be placed many yards away from the ocean waves. Dog laid out his belongings after placing two towels, starting with the floaties. He slipped one onto each of Robot's arms, and next, he removed the goggles and swimming trunks from his bag. After that, he unstrapped the blue collar from his neck and tried on his striped blue-complementary trunks.

Dog pulled them up extra tight and held both pairs of goggles with one hand while holding Robot's hand with the other, walking straight down the sandy path to the coastal waves. All of a sudden, Dog started to get a gut feeling, his intuition seemingly trying to warn him something. Something in his instincts just did not sit well with him.

Could he have forgotten something? No, that wasn't it. He already double-checked his bag before they left. Still, something in the corner of his mind kept itching at him, and he couldn't comprehend what it was at the time. When they finally reached past the crowd of umbrellas, the cool, blue ocean revealed itself, and they stopped themselves right at the edge of the wet sand.

They looked at each other and smiled at all the fun that they were about to have. The ocean waves reached closer, splashing against the sandy sediments, stopping right at the edge of Robot's toes. Dog had subconsciously stopped themselves just close enough for their feet to not get submerged in the salty water. Robot continued to look down at the flowing waves, and three little piggies with bright swimsuits ran past them.

The trio whooped and cheered, running down to the ocean and diving right in, splashing into the waves one by one. Dog thoughtfully placed his fist on his chin, looking back and forth between Robot and the deep water. That's when he started to realize that when both water and electrical circuits come into contact…oh no. Brief flashes of the red warning label came back in his mind.

KEEP

AWAY

FROM

WATER!

Suddenly, he had an epiphany, but fate had other plans in mind. With the blink of an eye, he now saw Robot running down the shallow end. He gasped in horror, and out of a split-second decision, sprinted as fast as he could after Robot. Everything went in slow motion, and his thumping heartbeat raced from his heightened pace, already fearing the worst from his best robot friend.

Luckily for him, he caught up a lot quicker than he expected and held Robot's left arm tightly before he could go any further. Robot, who only managed to reach waist-deep in the ocean, turned around in shock, caught off-guard by the sudden halt. Dog simply shook his head and led his pal back to the beach. The sun-tanned pigs chatted amongst themselves, murmuring about how much of a buzzkill Dog was.

When they finally reached back to the sandy area, he worriedly looked down at Robot's legs. Dog had thought the warning implied Robot was gonna short-circuit and receive electrocuted burns. But, he didn't want to take that chance and made sure his robot would stay safe, far away from the water. He stood in disbelief, frustrated at himself that he didn't realize it sooner.

He stared at Robot with a guilty look, showing in his eyes that this wasn't what he had initially planned for Robot. He just wanted to make sure Robot didn't run into any danger. He pushed back his friend farther down until he stood near the umbrellas. He pointed to the ground and nonverbally ordered him to stay right there. Robot, being the obedient little bot that he is, was very understanding of Dog's concerns and followed his directive.

Dog put one hand on Robot's shoulder with a half-smile and returned his pair of goggles before turning around and running back to hop into the ocean. He spat once and soaked his goggles in the water to prevent them from fogging. He turned around one last time with his goggles on and gave an approving thumbs up, and Robot did the same as well. Dog took a deep breath and dived right in, while Robot looked around the area since he was now alone.

He looked down at the sand and started to get a feel of what he was sitting on. He reached into the ground, slowly digging his long fingers into the tiny rocks. His hand whirred and swirled around like a metal mixer. When Robot pulled it out of the sand, many grains of sand stuck to his hand, and he started to sift through them, softly brushing them off with his other hand.

When most of the sand was wiped off, his eyes widened when it revealed a tiny seashell stuck between two of his fingers. He pinched it out with his other hand and closely observed it. It was about the width of his finger and had a bronze-striped layer, which had a sharp tip on one end and a wide shell shape on the other side. He flicked it off his fingers and then turned to his left.

He watched as he saw other young fox kits carrying around heavy buckets and placing them upside down on the sand. When they pulled out the buckets, it revealed round, sandy towers formed in the shape of the buckets. Robot was fascinated by their ability to form shapes simply by using sand. Due to him being so close to the waves, the sand was more moist and could solidify better as a result.

Robot got an idea and began using his pair of goggles as his method of forming shapes. He scooped some wet sand and continued to fill it up until it overflowed. Then, he placed it upside down, just like how he saw the other kids do it. Carefully, he gently lifted the goggles, and voila! There was now a short mound of sand that stood in front of Robot, and he was very proud of it. He poked the sand pile, but it completely crumbled to pieces, and this saddened Robot.

He looked up and now saw Dog bouncing a beach ball with his hands and two other seals bouncing back it with their noses. Robot decided to let Dog continue having his fun, and he started walking back to the pair of towels they left earlier. Once he finally arrived back at their location, he sifted through the green bag out of sheer boredom. Then, he found a book inside with a name that caught his eye, appropriately titled: "Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?"

He really wanted to know the answer to this, so he opened the first page and began reading. What he got was an engrossing and surreal tale between mammals and androids, and Robot got lost in the moment. He pondered if robots could ever live up to the same level of evolution that living creatures had. The dreams he would occasionally have were already paving the road to that.

Despite the book being only a few hundred pages, it felt like hours had passed by, and before he knew it, Dog returned to their post and put his arms up. Robot understood what he meant by this and handed a towel for Dog to dry himself instead of shaking himself dry. He then placed his towel back on the sand and laid on top of it. Robot looked at Dog, who looked like he had an exhilarating time in the ocean and felt at peace.

Dog smiled when he saw Robot holding a novel he had procrastinated on reading for quite a few years now. Robot had just recently finished reading and put down the book, both of them now looking up at the clear blue sky. With both of them relaxed, Dog placed his pinky close to Robot's hand, and Robot wrapped one finger around his in response, their smiles growing even wider. Dog closed his eyes to rest, and Robot did the same, both laying very still.

As the sun continued to set, Dog adjusted his sleeping position many times and tossed and turned as the bright sky slowly transformed into a dim, faintly orange horizon. With the blink of his eyes, Dog slowly opened them and outstretched his arms. He tapped Robot's body, and he stirred, slowly opening his eyes as well. The first thing he saw was Dog smiling at him and raising his eyes and head, gesturing for him to get up.

Robot sat up and also outstretched his long arms. While Dog wrapped a towel around his waist to change out of his trunks, Robot heard something faintly creaking from his legs. He looked down at them and could feel them but felt frozen stiff below his waist. He only managed to twitch his legs a little, but it had a huge squeaky resistance to its movement. That's when he came to the terrifying realization: he couldn't move his legs!

Dog, oblivious to the robot's crisis, flashed himself for no one to see and then strapped on his blue collar around his neck. He waved with his arm for Robot to come along, but Robot looked back with concern. Dog stood there confused until he saw Robot straining to stand up and was still partially stuck to the ground.

When he was made aware of Robot's paralysis, he fell to his knees and attempted to get Robot up to his feet. Dog gripped Robot's hands tight and pulled them up as hard as he could. He heaved and tugged in desperation, but Robot's legs stayed firm, and he eventually lost his grip on his slippery surface. Robot watched with despair as Dog ran around and leaned his back against Robot's back and pushed with all his might.

Despite his best grunting with effort, they were all in vain, since his friend didn't even budge an inch. He lost his footing on the orange towel and slipped, landing his back on the soft surface. Dog, lying in defeat, slammed his fists in the sand and looked back at his friend, who turned his head 360 degrees, with worried thoughts. Why didn't he look more closely at the manual? He could've warned his friend sooner. How did he not see the rusty connection between water and metal? His first thought was electrocution? Really, Dog?

His breath became shallow for he was in denial that this may as well be the end. He refused to let their bond become a remnant of the past, filled with much guilt and shame, imagining how it could've ended up much worse had he not reached Robot in time.

Robot then looked down at his arms and buried his hands in the sand to settle down. All of a sudden, he eyed both his arms and stretched them out a bit. He gasped in surprise and realized his arms were still very flexible. So, with a glimmer of hope, he straightened them out, and then, little by little, they continued whirring once he extended them longer and longer like a pulley. To his surprise, he saw his rigid legs slowly start to rise from his towel.

Dog, who noticed a shadow slowly moving, turned his back, and his mouth went wide open, wowed that Robot somehow managed to find a way to raise himself off the ground. His arms were now extended about a few yards long when he finally stood up on his own two feet. Dog was left breathless and felt a rush of relief lifted off his shoulders. But, without warning, he retracted his arms and as a result, clumsily leaned forward, tipping over and landing face-first on the sand. Dog covered his eyes with his hands and whined with displeasure. Robot lifted his head and spun it around until all the sand flew off.

Now, he was more determined than ever, since he could use his arms to his advantage. Dog watched as Robot extended his left arm and poked his fingers deep in the sand and retracted his arm, dragging himself forward a few inches. He then stretched out his right arm and dug those fingers in the wet sediment, pulling his body weight forward another couple of inches. Dog could barely contain his excitement, with bated breath, as he watched Robot steadily crawl back, who finally figured out a plan to escape.

One hour later…

It was a long and excruciating process with lots of trial and error, especially when they reached the drier parts of the beach. Dog rapidly tapped his feet at the boardwalk stairs, his patience being pushed to the limit, as Robot finally arrived. He panted quite a bit since this method was a lot more difficult than it looked, pulling from his own weight. This part would be the trickiest one to pull off. Robot extended his arms to the top of the stairs, but it was harder to get a good grip due to the flat, wooden floorboards. Every time that he tried to grab onto the top, his wiggly arms kept sliding down the steps.

Luckily for him, Dog came prepared and whipped out his green towel for support. He wrapped it under both of Robot's arms and with the combined force of their pull, they yanked as hard as they could. Dog planted his feet firmly on the stairs, while Robot wrapped his arms tightly under each step, which had big gaps between each one. Step by step, they eventually reached the top.

Dog collapsed to the ground, dripping beads of sweat, and laid down for a moment to take a breather. Not long after, he instantly got back to his feet and took a few more deep breaths. He continued grabbing onto the towel, dead set on sending Robot home.

Then, he placed the orange towel under his robot, so that his outer layer of metal wouldn't get scraped off by the wood. From the united forces of Robot bending and retracting his arms, plus Dog heaving at the same time, they formed a consistent rhythm and finally exited the Playland area. Dog smiled with relief, and it didn't take too long for him to get the attention of a cab driver.

It was awkward at first trying to pull in Robot with his frozen legs. The feline motorist rolled his eyes, as he watched Dog attempt to shove Robot through the door many times. But, in the end, they managed to fit him inside before the driver blew a gasket.

The jingle of a key chain rattled outside with locks clicking, and the front door opened, revealing a fatigued Dog and Robot moving sluggishly through the entrance. Climbing up the flight of stairs at the apartment was quite the challenge as if climbing up the boardwalk was just a warm-up. Robot continued crawling through Dog's apartment and eventually pulled himself up to the couch and laid on his side, exhausted.

He stared at Robot apologetically and placed one hand on his silver cheek. He sniffled loudly and rubbed his runny red nose, while Robot noticed Dog's baggy eyes watering a bit. Then, Dog unexpectedly hopped onto him and buried his face in his metal chest, embracing his narrow neck tightly. Robot looked around him, and with a hint of a smile, looped his arms around Dog's body a few cycles and wrapped him tightly. After nearly getting separated from Robot, he wanted nothing more than to cherish his company with Robot that night.